"This is a very sad day for us," said Dr. E. Albert Reece, vice president for medical affairs for the University of Maryland and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"He was someone who spent many years at Maryland, and even in his retirement he continued to attend major events. He was very loyal and continued to be extraordinarily engaged," said Dr. Reece.

"Dr. Dennis played a significant role at the medical school and made contributions to the rise that made it the excellent institution that it is. He made an impact here," he said.

"He was a good friend and colleague and did a great job at the University of Maryland. He was interested in clinics and basic sciences," said Dr. Richard S. Ross, former dean of the Johns Hopkins medical school, who retired the same day as Dr. Dennis in 1990. "He was just one bighearted Eastern Shoreman."

John Murray Dennis was born and raised in Willards on the Eastern Shore. After graduating from Pittsville High School, he enrolled at the University of Maryland, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1943.

He earned his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1945, and after completing an internship at the medical school, he graduated in 1946 from the Army School of Roentgenology.

From 1946 to 1948, Dr. Dennis served in the Air Force, where he was chief of radiology at the Station Hospital, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

In 1948, after being discharged with the rank of captain, he began his radiology residency at the University of Maryland, studying under Dr. Walter Kilby.

Dr. Dennis began his professional career in 1951 at the University of Maryland School of Medicine as an instructor in the radiology department. Two years later, he was named professor and the first full-time chairman of the department, and remained in that position for the next 22 years.

In 1973, Dr. Dennis was appointed acting dean of the medical school and in 1974 was named dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which opened in 1807 and is the fifth-oldest medical school in the country.

Dr. Dennis exhibited a genuine affability and affection for people while bringing his many skills to the operation of a prestigious medical school.

In a 1974 interview with The Baltimore Sun, Dr. Dennis said his priorities were to see that the medical school took "a leadership role in delivery of medical care in the state" and to "build our research facilities to attract star faculty."

"A big, friendly blond-haired, even-tempered man, he is characterized by his peers and superiors as level headed, fair, honest, firm and capable of meeting problems head on and making decisions," said the profile.

Dr. Mordecai P. Blaustein is a professor of physiology and medicine and chairman of the department of physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"John was the dean that recruited me in 1979. He was a wonderfully kind and fair-minded man who had a vision for the medical school and built it into a first-class medical institution," said Dr. Blaustein.

"He told me he wanted to rebuild the medical school in a modern image with a great focus on the scientific aspect of medical education," he said. "John was putting his trust in me to recruit new faculty and build the physiology department, which was to have a strong research bent."

Dr. Blaustein said that it was Dr. Dennis' nature to be "very supportive in helping me grow the department. He helped all of the other chairs grow their departments. He listened to people and he loved the University of Maryland, and he wanted to make it a better place, which he did very quietly."